Aftershock

'I feel like an old lady'

Author's Note:

"The most difficult and complicated part of the writing process is the beginning."

~A. B. Yehoshua

This is my first book on Wattpad, so just stick with me through the first couple of chapters! Make sure you vote & comment what you think!

Xoxo~ Alina

*Aria's P.O.V.*
I never thought our world would come to an end. I never thought I would have to lose everything I had ever come to know.

The war that changed it all started 8 years ago when our president declared war on China. It started small, the United States sending over only a few dozen troops at a time. Two years into the war, however, our military realized, a bit too late, that it was getting out of hand. What had once started as a small battle between two countries, had become a complete world war.

Other major countries and nations had joined in, taking either side until the whole Earth was split into two parts. Countries that had once gotten along just fine had become enemies. The Earth was complete chaos. The people within the nations were the ones suffering the most. The War took up every part of our lives. Our parents were forced to work in factories, assembling planes and other weapons to use. Our schools were shut down "temporarily", although they never were reopened.

Three years into the war, the government sent out a draft for any man under fifty that was in good health. When my father was called to service, I knew I would never see him again. No man that was called to that war ever made it back. All of these men were like horses awaiting the slaughterhouse. There was no getting out of it once you were called, nobody even had enough money to buy their way out. We were all impoverished, fatherless, husband less, and hopeless.

Four years into the war, there were no more emergency services. The police had all quit, wanting to be with their families. The hospitals were still running, but only the dedicated doctors and nurses stayed to help those in need. The supermarkets never had fresh goods anymore, only packaged, canned, and boxed foods were left. The rest of the food was sent to the soldiers that were spread out across the globe. The government didn't try to help us all very much, they only told us that it would be over soon, that it was getting better, that it was all going to end. They never told us when.

Five years into the war, the first nuclear bomb exploded in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. It killed nearly everyone on the island, while letting loose an enormous tsunami on the West Coast. The nation started to panic, rioting and demanding the War be over. Of course, nobody listened and the War went on, along with the nuclear blasts. They became more frequent, sometimes even once or twice a month. They were set off in various places, mostly big cities near the west coast and southern states. They began appearing in more inland states until one hit Chicago. It was two hours away from my neighborhood. We heard the faint "boom" of the nuke exploding, even though we were so far away. We could feel the earth trembling beneath our feet. We watched on our televisions as the news broadcasters streamed live footage of the wreckage, of what had happened so close to us. The aftermath was devastating, there was barely anything left. The city had been reduced to crumbling buildings, overturned busses, collapsed train stations, nothing had survived. It was a tragic day, seeing our proud city reduced to nothing but rubble. There was so much death, so much destruction. What had happened to our country? What was going to happen to us?

6 years into the war, the government shut down the power. They gave us 7 days' notice before they turned off the grid for good. Everyone went ballistic, breaking into supermarkets and gas stations, pharmacies and home goods shops. Some even robbed each other, breaking into other's homes and taking whatever they could get their hands on. The nation lost their minds, nobody trusted anyone. It was every man for themselves, and they had no mercy. It was at night that it was the most terrifying. Gun shots and screams from nearby houses were sometimes heard, feint explosions were even more common. The only thing to do was sit in the darkness of our homes, silently hoping not to be on the list of the dead the next day.